1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display unit and a display method for displaying a variety of information. In particular, the present invention relates to a display unit and a display method, through which being capable of recognizing different images from each other by a plurality of viewers. For example, the present invention relates to a display unit and a display method, through which being capable of viewing a plurality of images displayed on an identical screen by a plurality of observers independently from each other. Also, the present invention relates to a unit and a method, which selectively recognize and display only specific information from a plurality of images which are displayed simultaneously. Also, the present invention relates to a display unit and display method, through which being capable of selectively viewing only specific information. Then, the present invention relates to a display unit and a display method, through which being capable of converting an image recognized by a viewer into a three-dimensional image.
2. Description of the Related Art
Up to now, there have been known techniques by which different images are displayed on an identical screen. For example, there have been known a method of dividing one screen so as to display a large number of programs simultaneously, and a method of superimposing and displaying a plurality of images on one screen.
In the former method, since the respective images are displayed independently on the screen, a large number of programs and images can be viewed simultaneously with relative ease. However, in the latter method, a plurality of images are superimposed on each other, resulting in a program that make it difficult to view those images.
Moreover, in either case, since a plurality of images are displayed simultaneously, a viewer must select an object to be viewed.
This leads to a problem in the case where a plurality of viewers view a plurality of different screens simultaneously. For example, in the case of displaying an image which can be viewed by a viewer A but cannot be viewed by a viewer B, the above-mentioned method cannot be utilized.
Also, there has been known a technique by which a three-dimensional image (cubic image) is displayed as an image (refer to xe2x80x9cThree-dimensional Display Unitxe2x80x9d written by Chizuro Masuda, published by Sangyo Tosho Co., initially on May 25, 1990).
However, in the above-mentioned technique in which different images are viewed by a plurality of viewers simultaneously, there has not been known a technique in which a three-dimensional image can be viewed by them.
The present invention has been made in view of the above, and therefore an object of the present invention is to provide a structure by which a plurality of viewers can view different images displayed on an identical screen, independently. In other words, the object of the present invention is to provide the structure by which the images displayed on the identical screen can be selected individually and viewed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a structure by which the above images can be converted into three-dimensional images, respectively.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a display method by which the above problems are solved.
In order to solve the above problems, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display unit, through which being capable of viewing different images by a plurality of viewers, respectively, as shown in a specific example of FIG. 1, comprising:
means 11 for displaying a plurality of different images on an identical screen; and
means 13 and 14 for selecting said plurality of images for each of the viewers.
The above display unit is designed so that two images which are displayed on a display unit 11 and divided with time are viewed through glasses 13 and 14 each having an optical shutter, thereby being capable of selectively viewing only a predetermined image.
FIG. 1 shows an example in which two images are viewed individually, and as time-division is more increased, more images can be viewed individually. The structure shown in FIG. 1 enables viewing a desired image by changing a timing of shuttering the glasses 13 or 14. Also, if a plurality of viewers use shutters having an identical timing, they can view an identical image simultaneously.
According to another structure of the present invention, there is provided, as shown in a specific example of FIG. 1, a display unit, through which being capable of viewing different images by a plurality of viewers, respectively, comprising means 11 for dividing a plurality of different images on an identical screen with time to display separated images; and means 13 and/or 14 having an optical shutter; wherein said means 13 and/or 14 having the optical shutter opens and/or shuts said optical shutter in synchronism with a timing at which the plurality of images are separated, and selectively transmits one of the images divided with time.
The above structure allows the glasses (for example, indicated by reference numeral 13) which is means having the optical shutter to be appropriately selected, thereby being capable of selectively recognizing only a required image. For example, the above structure can realize a situation in which only a specific person can view a specific image or only a specific person cannot view a specific image in a state where a plurality of persons view an identical screen.
According to still another structure of the present invention, there is provided, as shown in a specific example of FIG. 3, a display unit, through which being capable of viewing different images by a plurality of viewers, respectively, comprising means (CRT 21 in the figure) for dividing a plurality of different images on an identical screen with time to display separated images; and means (means which is made up of a polarizing plate 22, a xcfx80 cell 23 and a xc2xc wavelength plate 24, or means which is made up of a xcfx80 cell 23 in the figure) for giving a different polarizing state to at least one of the separated images.
With the above structure, there can be obtained a unit which divides a plurality of images (may be two or more images) with time to display the separated images, and recognizes one of the images selectively by using a filter that gives a specific polarizing state to one of the separated images to selectively transmit the polarizing state.
For example, in the structure shown in FIG. 3, two images from a CRT 21, which are divided with time, are polarized counterclockwise or clockwise by a polarizing plate 22 and a xc2xc wavelength plate 24. Then, a xcfx80 cell 23 is used to further give a specific polarizing state to a specific image which is divided with time, thereby converting its polarizing state into a clockwise circular polarizing state. In this example, the use of clockwise circular polarizing glasses 25 and counterclockwise circular polarizing glasses 26 enables viewing selectively two images.
According to yet still another structure of the present invention, there is provided, as shown in a specific structure of FIG. 5, a display unit, through which being capable of viewing different images by a plurality of viewers, respectively, comprising means 31 and 32 for displaying two images having different polarizing states on an identical image 35; and means 36 and 37 for selectively transmitting said images having different polarizing states in correspondence with said plurality of viewers.
The structure shown in FIG. 5 is that two images projected from projecting units (for example, liquid-crystal projectors) 31 and 32 are projected on a screen 35 through polarizing plates 33 and 34 having different polarizing directions, respectively. Then, those images projected on the screen 35 are viewed through glasses 36 having a polarizing plate which is identical in polarizing direction with the polarizing plate 33 and glasses 37 having a polarizing plate which is identical in polarizing direction with the polarizing plate 34. As a result, display projected from the projecting unit 31 can be selectively viewed through the glasses 36 Also, display projected from the projecting unit 32 can be selectively viewed through the glasses 37.
In the above manner, one viewer wearing the glasses 36 and another viewer wearing the glasses 37 can view different images independently.
According to yet still another structure of the present invention, as shown by its principle in FIGS. 8 to 10, there is provided a display unit that displays images different depending upon visual points, using a lenticular lens 70 or a parallax barrier, which is characterized in that a non-display region that does not conduct display or a region where display of a predetermined background color is conducted is disposed between the respective display data which constitute different images.
In the above structure, the display data is defined as display of a minimum unit that constitutes a pixel or an image.
According to yet still another structure of the present invention, as shown by its operating timing in FIG. 2, a feature is that a screen on which a plurality of images which are divided with time are displayed is viewed intermittently at a timing which is identical with a timing when dividing the image with time, to thereby selectively recognize one of said plurality of images.
In other words, in a state where an image A which is made up of A0, A1, . . . , and an image B which is made up of B0, B1, . . . , are divided with time, as shown in FIG. 2, one viewer is allowed to recognize the image A which is made up of A0, A1, . . . , whereas another viewer is allowed to recognize the image B which is made up of B0, B1, . . . , through an optical shutter.
It is preferable to use an optical shutter which is as high as possible in response speed as means for viewing the image intermittently. Also, in order to allow the image to be recognized as a continuous image, it is necessary to take into consideration a period of time during which a residual image remains in setting a timing for viewing the image intermittently. Also, it is preferable to provide a period of time during which any image is not viewed in order to reduce the cross-talk of the different images. In other words, it is preferable to provide a period of time during which all of a plurality of optical shutters are shut.
According to yet still another structure of the present invention, as shown in the specific example of FIG. 5, a feature is that a screen 55 on which a plurality of images having different polarizing states are displayed is viewed through a plurality of polarizing filters 57 and 56 having different polarizing states, respectively, to thereby recognize said plurality of images, independently.
The structure shown in FIG. 5 uses a glasses-type polarizing filter. However, as another structure, polarizing filters as indicated by reference numerals 113 and 114 in FIG. 12 may be disposed before the eyes of viewers as if they look like screens.
According to yet still another structure of the present invention, as shown in the specific example of FIG. 5, a feature is that a screen 505 on which a plurality of images containing an image having a predetermined polarizing state are displayed is viewed through a filter 56 or 57 that selectively transmits said predetermined polarizing state, to selectively recognize only an image having said predetermined polarizing state.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display unit, through which being capable of viewing different images by a plurality of viewers, respectively, comprising:
means for forming an image which is optically modulated by an integrated liquid-crystal panel;
means for displaying a plurality of different images on an identical screen; and
means for selecting said plurality of images for each of the viewers;
wherein said integrated liquid-crystal panel is so arranged as to provide active matrix regions where images of Mxc3x97N are formed, and a region having peripheral circuits of M+N on a substrate, assuming that M and N are natural numbers of 2 or more;
wherein said M-peripheral circuits conduct horizontal scanning control of the N-active matrix regions simultaneously; and
wherein said N-peripheral circuits conduct vertical scanning control of the M-active matrix regions simultaneously.
According to another structure of the present invention, there is provided a display unit, through which being capable of viewing different images by a plurality of viewers, respectively, comprising:
means for forming an image which is optically modulated by an integrated liquid-crystal panel;
means for dividing a plurality of different images on an identical screen with time to display separated images; and
means having an optical shutter;
wherein said integrated liquid-crystal panel is so arranged as to provide active matrix regions where images of Mxc3x97N are formed, and a region having peripheral circuits of M+N on a substrate, assuming that M and N are natural numbers of 2 or more;
wherein said M-peripheral circuits conduct horizontal scanning control of the N-active matrix regions simultaneously;
wherein said N-peripheral circuits conduct vertical scanning control of the M-active matrix regions simultaneously; and
wherein said means having said optical shutter opens and shuts said optical shutter in synchronism with a timing at which the image is separated, to selectively transmit one of the images divided with time.
According to still another structure of the present invention, there is provided a display unit, through which being capable of viewing different images by a plurality of viewers, respectively, comprising:
means for forming an image which is optically modulated by an integrated liquid-crystal panel;
means for dividing a plurality of different images on an identical screen with time to display separated images; and
means for giving a different polarizing state to at least one of the separated images;
wherein said integrated liquid-crystal panel is so arranged as to provide active matrix regions where images of Mxc3x97N are formed, and a region having peripheral circuits of M+N on a substrate, assuming that M and N are natural numbers of 2 or more;
wherein said M-peripheral circuits conduct horizontal scanning control of the N-active matrix regions simultaneously; and
wherein said N-peripheral circuits conduct vertical scanning control of the M-active matrix regions simultaneously.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display unit, through which being capable of viewing different images by a plurality of viewers, respectively, comprising:
means for displaying a plurality of different images on an identical screen;
means for selecting said plurality of images for each of the viewers; and
means for converting the image viewed by each of the viewers into a three-dimensional display.
A specific example of the above structure is shown in FIGS. 18 to 20. The structure shown in FIG. 19 forms a three-dimensional image (cubic image) by a control circuit 511 the details of which are shown in FIG. 18 and an integrated liquid-crystal panel 507 controlled by the control circuit 511 which is shown in FIG. 14, to use the selection of a predetermined polarizing state and the time-division system together, thereby being capable of providing three-dimensional images which are different between two viewers or viewers separated into two groups.
According to another structure of the present invention, there is provided a display unit, through which being capable of viewing different images by a plurality of viewers, respectively, comprising: means for displaying a plurality of different images on an identical screen; means for selecting said plurality of different images for each of the viewers; and means for selecting the images which can be viewed by each of the viewers from two-dimensional display or three-dimensional display.
The above structure is characterized in that, in the structure shown in an example of FIGS. 18 to 20, in particular, in a control circuit shown in FIG. 18, a two-dimensional image and a three-dimensional image can be appropriately selected.
According to still another structure of the present invention, a feature is to comprise: means for forming a plurality of images which are divided with time, respectively; means for giving different polarizing states to one and others of said plurality of images, respectively; means for superimposing said plurality of images on each other to project the superimposed images; means for dividing the images which are divided with time by an optical shutter; and means for selectively transmitting said different polarizing states, respectively.
A specific example of the above structure is shown in FIGS. 18 to 20. In the structure shown in FIGS. 18 to 20, two color images which are divided with time are formed by a liquid-crystal panel 511 (its details are shown in FIG. 14) shown in FIG. 19, and then allowed to be transmitted through polarizing plates 512 and 513 (or appropriate polarization giving means), thereby giving two different polarizing states to those two color images. Then, those images are reflected from an optical system 508 by a mirror 509 so as to be superimposedly projected on a screen 510, and the images projected on the screen 510 are selected by polarizing plates 404, 405 and liquid-crystal shutters 406, 407. In this manner, the viewer wearing the glasses 402 can view a predetermined three-dimensional image.
According to yet still another structure of the present invention, there is provided a method of displaying 2n-kinds of different images on an identical screen, assuming that n is a natural number of 1 or more, in which said 2n-kinds of different images are separated into n-images by time-division, and also separated by giving two polarizing states thereto.
A specific example of the above structure is shown in FIG. 23. What is shown in FIG. 23 is an operating timing chart in the case of operating the structure shown in FIG. 22. FIG. 23 shows an example in which three-dimensional images indicated by symbols A, B and C are displayed and then separated, respectively.
Since the three-dimensional image requires two images for a viewer""s right eye and left eye, when three-dimensional images are displayed, independent images of 6 kinds of 2xc3x973 are required. In the case of conducting the operation shown in FIG. 23, this is a case of n=3.
In the operation shown in FIG. 23, the images are divided with time by the operation of an optical shutter into A01, A02, further B01, B02, still further C01, C02. Further, A01 and A02 are separated, further B01 and B02 are separated, still further C01 and C02 are separated, by a filter that selectively transmits two polarizing states. In this way, for each of three viewers (or a plurality of viewers which are separated into three groups), there can be provided an image for his right eye and an image for his left eye. Thus, those three-dimensional images can be viewed by the individual viewers.
According to yet still another structure of the present invention, there is provided a method of projecting one image consisting of R, G and B, and the other image consisting of Rxe2x80x2, Gxe2x80x2 and Bxe2x80x2 on an identical projection plane, which is characterized in that different polarizing states are given to said one image and said other image, and each of said one image and said other image is further made up of a plurality of different images which are divided with time.
According to yet still another structure of the present invention, there is provided a method of projecting first images which have a first polarizing state and are divided with time into a right-eye image and a left-eye image, and second images which have a second polarizing state different from said first polarizing state and are divided with time into a right-eye image and a left-eye image on an identical projection plane, which is characterized in that said first images are selectively transmitted by optical means for selectively transmitting said first polarizing state, and said first image transmitted is viewed by right and left eyes of a viewer while being divided with time by using an optical shutter, to thereby selectively obtain a first three-dimensional image; and said second images are selectively transmitted by optical means for selectively transmitting said second polarizing state, and said second image transmitted is viewed by right and left eyes of the viewer while being divided with time by using an optical shutter, to thereby selectively obtain a second three-dimensional image.
A specific example of the above structure is shown in FIG. 21. FIG. 21 shows images Ai and Bi (i is a natural number containing 0) having a first polarizing state, and images Ci and Di having a second polarizing state. A, B and C, D represent images for right eyes and images for left eyes.
The first polarizing states indicated by Ai and Bi are selectively transmitted by polarizing plates 404 and 405 shown in FIG. 20, and the image thus transmitted is divided with time by liquid-crystal shutters (optical shutters) 406 and 407, to thereby obtain the image Ai for the right eye and the image Bi for the left eye.
The second polarizing states indicated by Ci and Di are selectively transmitted by polarizing plates 408 and 409 shown in FIG. 20, and the image thus transmitted is divided with time by liquid-crystal shutters (optical shutters) 410 and 411, to thereby obtain the image Ci for the right eye and the image Di for the left eye.
According to yet still another structure of the present invention, there is provided a method of projecting first images which have a first polarizing state and are divided with time into a right-eye image and a left-eye image, and second image which have a second polarizing state different from said first polarizing state and are divided with time into a right-eye image and a left-eye image on an identical projection plane, which is characterized in that said first and second images are obtained as images which have two different polarizing states and are superimposed on each other by using an optical shutter, and those images are separated into an image for a viewer""s right eye and an image for his left eye by first optical means for selectively transmitting said first polarizing state and second optical means for selectively transmitting said second polarizing state.
As a specific example of the above structure, there is shown a case in which a positional relation between a polarizing plate and a liquid-crystal shutter on the portion of glasses is exchanged in the structure shown in FIG. 20.
According to yet still another structure of the present invention, there is provided a method of obtaining, as a first three-dimensional image and a second three-dimensional image, first images having a first polarizing state, which are obtained by dividing with time and displaying a plurality of different three-dimensional images for a viewer""s right eye and his left eye, and second images having a second polarizing state different from said first polarizing state, which are obtained by dividing with time and displaying a plurality of different three-dimensional images for a viewer""s right eye and his left eye, which is characterized in that a specific image which is divided with time from said first and second images is selected by an optical shutter, an image for his right eye or his left eye is obtained by optical means that selectively transmits said first polarizing state from said selected image, and an image for his right eye or his left eye is obtained by optical means that selectively transmits said second polarizing state from said selected image.
An operating timing chart of a specific example of the above structure is shown in FIG. 23. What is shown in FIG. 23 is an operating timing chart in the case of operating the structure shown in FIG. 22.
In the operation shown in FIG. 23, a display screen 1 and a display screen 2 have different polarizing states. On the display screen 1 are displayed images for viewer""s right eye of three-dimensional images A, B and C. On the display screen 2 are displayed images for his left eye of those three-dimensional images A, B and C.
First, an image for his right eye and an image for his left eye of the image A are selected by a liquid-crystal shutter (optical shutter) shown in FIG. 22. For example, the image for his right eye of the image A is indicated by A01 whereas the image for his left eye of the image A is indicated by A02. Similarly, the images for his right eye and the images for high left eye, of the images B and C are selected by the liquid-crystal shutter.
Then, the image A01 for his right eye and the image A02 for his left eye are separated from each other using a polarizing plate which is means for selectively transmitting the respective polarizing states. In this manner, the images for his right eye and the images for his left eye, of the respective images A, B and C can be selected individually. Thus, three-dimensional images can be viewed by three viewers (or a plurality of viewers which are separated into three groups), individually.
According to yet still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of obtaining, as a first three-dimensional image and a second three-dimensional image, first images having a first polarizing state, which are obtained by dividing with time and displaying a plurality of different three-dimensional images for a viewer""s right eye and his left eye, and second images having a second polarizing state different from said first polarizing state, which are obtained by dividing with time and displaying a plurality of different three-dimensional images for a viewer""s right eye and his left eye, which is characterized in that said first images are obtained by optical means that transmits said first polarizing state, an image for his right eye or left eye of a specific image is obtained by dividing said first images with time by an optical shutter, said second images are obtained by optical means that transmits said second polarizing state, and an image for his left eye or right eye of a specific image is obtained by dividing said second images with time by an optical shutter.
As a specific example of the above structure, there is shown a case in which a positional relation between a polarizing plate and a liquid-crystal shutter is exchanged in the structure shown in FIG. 22.
For facilitation of understanding the present invention described in this specification, an example of a timing chart shown in FIG. 23 is described. What is shown in FIG. 23 is an example in which three-dimensional images A, B and C are displayed on an identical screen, and then separated, respectively, so as to be viewed by three viewers.
For example, the three-dimensional image indicated by A includes an image for his right eye of the image A, which is made up of a frame Ai1 and an image for his left eye of the image A, which is made up of a frame Ai2, assuming that i is a natural number including 0.
The display screen 1 and the display screen 2 have different polarizing states, respectively. For example, the different polarizing states are given to the display screens 1 and 2 such that the display screen 1 has vertical polarization whereas the display screen 2 has horizontal polarization.
For example, a viewer that wants to selectively view the image A puts on glasses indicated by reference numeral 601 in FIG. 22 to view a screen 510. The display screen 1 and the display screen 2 in FIG. 23 are superimposedly displayed on the screen 510.
In this situation, liquid-crystal shutters 604 and 605 provided on the glasses 601 are opened/shut simultaneously, thereby allowing only a frame of the image A to be selectively transmitted. Then, an image Ai1 for his right eye and an image Ai2 for his left eye are separated from each other by a polarizing plate 603 that allows the polarizing state of the display screen 1 to be transmitted. In this way, the viewer who puts on the glasses 601 can selectively view the three-dimensional image A.
Different images which are divided with time are displayed on an identical screen, and those different images are appropriately selected using an optical shutter, thereby being capable of selecting the different images for each of a plurality of viewers. Then, the different images can be viewed simultaneously by the plurality of viewers. Also, the plurality of images are separated to be displayed while being changed in polarizing state with time, and then those images are viewed through filters that transmit specific polarizing states, respectively. As a result, the viewers can selectively view the respective images. Furthermore, the image can be exhibited to the viewers as a cubic image.
Further, two images different in polarizing state are displayed on an identical screen, and those images are viewed using optical means that selectively transmits the respective different polarizing states so that the viewer can view the different images. In other words, the images displayed on the identical screen can be viewed independently and simultaneously by a plurality of viewers. Moreover, the images can be exhibited to the viewers as a cubic image.
Further, a plurality of images are separated and displayed using a lenticular screen, thereby being capable of viewing the different images by a plurality of viewers, independently.
Further, a plurality of images are separated and displayed using a parallax barrier, thereby being capable of viewing the different images by a plurality of viewers, independently.
In this manner, a plurality of images are displayed on an identical screen simultaneously, and those images are separated through a method of dividing the images with time, a method of using a polarizing state, or a method using a lenticular screen or a parallax barrier, so as to be viewed independently.
Using the above methods, the different images can be displayed on the identical screen for each of a plurality of viewers.
Also, the above structure can be used to provide information to only a specific viewer among a plurality of viewers. The above structure may be applied for a variety of information display means, play devices, device for education or study, etc. In other words, taking such an advantage that different images can be viewed for each of viewers, the above structure can be used for selectively providing a variety of information or images to a plurality of viewers.
The above and further objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description.